As known in the art, one obstacle to catching a fish using a fishing line having a lure or bait and hook coupled thereto is detecting if and when a fish strikes at the lure or bait. The objective of strike detection is for an angler to take quick action such as "setting" the hook or releasing tension on the line such that the fish may swim away with the lure or bait and not feel the unnatural tension of a fishing line. Once the fish has engulfed, or swallowed the bait and is unaware of any unnatural tension, the hook may be "set." Thus, it is desirable for an angler to detect the presence of a fish near the fishing lure or bait.
As is also known, there exist several techniques to detect a fish strike. One approach to detecting a fish strike is to attach a bobber to the fishing line. The bobber is attached to the fishing line such that the bobber floats on the surface of the water with at least a portion of the bobber in the angler's view. The angler observes the movement of the floating bobber to detect a fish strike. The floating bobber submerges when a fish swallows or strikes at the fishing lure or bait. Thus, after such an indication the angler may set the hook.
Another approach to detect a fish strike is for the angler to observe the movement of the fishing line or fishing rod. That is, the angler observes the movements of the fishing line or the tip of the fishing rod as an indication of a fish strike. Thus, when the angler observes such movement, the angler may set the hook.
Each of the above mentioned strike detection techniques however, requires the transfer of physical energy from the fish's contact with the lure or bait through the fishing line to indicate a strike. The energy propagates along the fishing line through physical movement of the fishing line. That is, the energy mechanically propagates along the fishing line.
However, those strike detection techniques which rely on mechanical propagation of the energy produced by a fish's strike along the fishing line have several problems. First, in some instances the fish may not strike the lure with sufficient energy to cause a physical movement of the fishing line. Thus, an angler would be unaware of the presence of the fish near the lure.
Second, the fish may strike the lure with energy sufficient to move the submerged portion of the fishing line, however, the energy propagating along the submerged portion of the fishing line may attenuate such that no indication above the surface of the water results. That is, neither the bobber, the above water portion of the fishing line or the fishing rod tip move in response to the fish strike. Thus, the angler again may be unaware of the presence of the fish near the lure.
Third, effective mechanical propagation of a fish strike down the fishing line generally occurs only in about one-half of the possible directions in which a fish may strike a lure in the water. for example, if a fish is swimming away from the angler, a strike may generally be detected by observing the movement of the fishing line or fishing rod tip. However, if a fish is swimming toward the angler it is relatively difficult to detect a strike.
Furthermore, environmental factors such as wind blowing on a fishing line results in physical movement of the fishing line which may mimic and mask the movement of the fishing line due to underwater fish strikes. Thus, in such environmental conditions, it is relatively difficult to detect a fish strike.
Moreover, other factors including but not limited to the softness of the fishing line in combination with the stiffness of the fishing rod make detecting fish strikes difficult even under favorable environmental conditions. Further, efficient transfer of mechanical energy along the fishing line requires that a level of tension on the fishing line be maintained between the lure and the angler. This significantly decreases the natural appearance and behavior of the bait. When a fish senses such unnatural bait appearance and behavior due to tension in the fishing line, or when the fish senses pressure in his mouth, the fish may spit out or refuse to strike at the lure.
Due to the above-described difficulties in detecting a strike at an appropriate instant, many anglers would appreciate an apparatus that would overcome these difficulties.